Making Summer Last with Berry Jam

As a professional chef, the end of summer always means it's time to start canning and freezing in preparation for the winter months. I buy fresh shell beans that I clean and stash in large quantities (raw) in the freezer. I make pickles from the Kirby cucumbers. I pickle green tomatoes. But most of all, I make jam from the fruits I will be glad to see in my refrigerator in January.

Jam is the nicest way I know to remember the flavors of the season past. In late summer, elderberry bushes produce juicy berries that need to be cooked or macerated before they can be eaten. They are often used to make wine, brandy, or infused liquors, but I love to make a simple jam from the berries and eat it mixed into yogurt or ice cream. I also love it drizzled over duck or even as part of a simple salad dressing.

A note about making jam: I have always found dealing with powdered pectin difficult. I never seem to get the right texture! When I want to make some jam from a more uncommon fruit, one that may have a fleeting season, I add a jar of ready-made jam to the recipe instead. I find it bolsters the flavor and yields a great consistency.

If you can't get elderberries, use blackberries or half raspberries and half blackberries instead to strike the same exquisite balance between sweet and acidic. Huckleberries, fresh or frozen, are also a close match in flavor, but may be expensive and hard to find.

1 bottle red wine
1 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups elderberries, completely stemmed and washed
1 8-ounce jar of good quality jam, preferably blueberry or blackberry
zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

1. In a large stainless saucepan, add the red wine. Cook over medium heat until the wine reduces by more than half. Add the water and sugar. Stir to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves.
2. Cook the mixture over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Add the fruit. Bring to a boil and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time. Add the jarred jam.
3. Add the lemon zest and the Sherry vinegar. Stir to blend.  Cool in the refrigerator and then store in sterilized jars with fitted lids.